Ashburton’s Te Whare Whakatere opening delayed until 2024
By local democracy reporter Jonathan Leask:
Construction delays will push the opening of Ashburton’s new library and civic centre into next year.
Te Whare Whakatere will not be ready as planned on December 18, and will instead open on January 22, council chief executive Hamish Riach said.
Riach said it had become clear in recent days that some parts of the complex would not be ready for business by December 18.
Ashburton mayor Neil Brown said it was disappointing, but an unavoidable reality.
“It’s taking longer than expected and we can’t do anything about it, it is what it is.
“We just really want to get that building finished.
“There are contractual elements that if the building is not completed by a certain date penalties can apply and we will be working through that.”
About 120 council staff will still relocate to the new building as planned by the end of the year, but the Ashburton Public Library’s move has been pushed back, Riach said.
"We are setting a new date for the library’s relocation and expect it to be open in the new building on January 22," Rach said.
The construction site shutdown over the Christmas and New Year break has had a knock-on effect, he said.
"While we’re really disappointed, we have to be realistic.
“The top floor, where most staff will work, and level one, will be complete as scheduled by December 18.
“Our builders will still be putting the finishing touches in the public areas on the ground floor past that date.”
There would be no public visitors or meetings there until the whole building is ready, Riach said.
"Our whole project team knew that getting everyone in by the end of the year was an important milestone and the effort over the last couple of months has been commendable, with more than 200 staff on site each day."
The build has been besieged by delays since construction began in January 2021, driven by the impacts of the Covid pandemic.
Coupled with inflationary pressures, the project's final cost will be over the budgeted $56.6 million.
The latest delay is not expected to add to the cost of the building Riach said.
A forecast earlier this year estimated the project would overrun its budget by up to 10%, which will be offset by the $20m shovel ready project grant from the Government.
The old library will now stay open until early January and then close for three weeks to allow for more than 60,000 books and other new resources to be relocated.
The council’s customer services team will continue to operate from the old administration building until the ground floor is finished and the new library opens on 22 January.
Staff working from Te Whare Whakatere from December 18 will include the regulatory, infrastructure, business support, democracy, and human resources teams.
A dawn blessing of the unfinished Te Whare Whakatere will continue as planned in December.
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Dark sky nation: Tourism minister backs move to attract stargazing travellers
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
Transforming Aotearoa into a dark sky nation could attract stargazing international tourists, creating huge economic benefits, Tourism Minister Matt Doocey says.
The Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand believes New Zealand could become a dark sky nation, an idea Doocey says he supports.
To become a dark sky nation the country would need to cut light pollution, such as outdoor lighting, to allow for greater stargazing and astronomy.
Tourism New Zealand research indicated more than 70% of people thinking about visiting New Zealand were interested in stargazing, he said.
The best times for stargazing were during the off-peak and shoulder seasons for tourism, which meant protecting New Zealand’s night skies could provide an economic boost when tourist towns were otherwise quiet.
"It is something I am keen to encourage," Doocey said.
‘‘We want to grow tourism because we know it brings jobs to rural New Zealand.
‘‘Tourism is very seasonal, so we need to be looking at how we can market and promote New Zealand during those shoulder and off-peak periods.’’
The Waimakariri MP said an economic impact report commissioned by Enterprise North Canterbury last year showed a dark sky trail would provide an economic boost in the region.
The report said a dark sky reserve could generate $4.6 million of visitor spending in Waimakariri and create up to 24 jobs.
The Oxford Dark Sky Group obtained dark sky park status in January for the Oxford Forest Conservation Area from the Dark Sky International.
Oxford Dark Sky president Raul Elias-Drago said there was no cost to the group, thanks to support from the community, the Waimakariri District Council, Oxford-Ohoka Community Board and Government agencies such as the Department of Conservation.
The group was now planning to apply for dark sky reserve status, which would incorporate the town of Oxford.
Doocey said the Oxford example showed how communities coming together could achieve economic benefits at little cost.
Enterprise North Canterbury has been working with other regional tourism organisations (RTOs) to develop a Canterbury dark sky trail.
The Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve was established in 2012, while the Kaikōura Dark Sky Trust is about to apply for dark sky sanctuary status and interest is growing in other Canterbury communities.
‘‘I would encourage RTOs to think about whether dark skies should be part of their destination management plans,’’ Doocey said.
‘‘There is real potential for a ground up approach and I would be really supportive of that.’’
Elias-Drago, who is also the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand (RASNZ) secretary, said a national approach was needed, perhaps led by the Department of Conservation.
‘‘The Department of Conservation has been very supportive regionally,’’ he said.
‘‘The Rangiora office supported our application and other regional offices have supported other applications, but every time each regional office is doing the same thing.
‘‘If the work was done nationally, we wouldn’t have to replicate the work in every region.’’
Doocey has accepted an invitation to speak at the New Zealand Starlight Conference in Tekapo in October, which is organised by RASNZ and the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve board.
‘‘We are hoping to use the conference as a springboard to advance the discussion around becoming a dark sky nation,’’ Elias-Drago said.
Niue became the world’s first whole country to become an International dark sky nation in 2020.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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